1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to an exercise apparatus. Particularly, the present invention relates to an improved exercising machine having components for the performance of multiple physical exercises.
2. Description of the Related Art
The variety of weight-training devices available today is a tribute to the increasingly recognized importance and popularity of physical fitness. In response to the growing demand for exercise machines capable of performing a variety of functions, many types of multi-function exercise devices have been developed which have components for the performance of a variety of physical exercises.
Many exercising devices of the foregoing type are large cumbersome machines having individual stations for the performance of different exercises. The overall size and the number of components used in these types of machines makes them costly, largely inappropriate for use in many areas, and additionally, makes their transportation, once assembled, difficult. Many efforts have been made to reduce the size of multi-function exercise devices, often resulting in exercise machines which sacrifice the machine's ability to afford a complete workout.
Further, prior art machines are typically encumbered with one or more of a variety of complicated arrangements for coupling a lifting mechanism to a stack of weights or other resistance means. Traditionally, as the number of possibilities for performing exercises on an exercise machine increased, the number of components necessary to complete the machine also increased, thereby resulting in a costlier, heavier, more spacious and complex exercising device.
Additionally, properly performing a physical exercise depends in large part upon the proper positioning of the individual during the performance of the exercise, and upon appropriate motion of the individual's body and appendages required to be used for the particular exercise being performed. Moreover, it has become well-recognized that an overall physical conditioning program includes, in addition to adequate rest and proper nutrition, a variety of factors such as flexibility, cardiovascular training, and strength training.
Accordingly, the need exists for a multi-function exercise apparatus that facilitates proper performance of a variety of physical exercises and for permitting the user to achieve the advantages of weight training, aerobic training, and flexibility, in a weight training device having relatively few components. Additionally, the need exists for an exercise machine that is easily converted by the user from one mode of operation to a second mode of operation. Further still, the need exists for an exercise machine which permits the performance of a variety of physical exercises without the presence of numerous moving parts, complex links, pulleys, and other components as commonly found in the prior art. The present invention fills these and other needs by providing a multiple function exercise machine that permits the proper performance of a variety of physical exercises with a minimal number of components.